Time is running out.With the pending implosion of the grand old Las Vegas hotel/casino, the Desert Palace, an eleven-year-old mystery of stolen money remains unsolved.Newspaper reporter Nedra Dean feels the pressure to use every means she can to make this dramatic moment in Las Vegas history her biggest scoop, one she hopes will catapult her to big-time journalism at CNN. Celebrity maitre d' Eduardo only wants to reconcile his estranged family before his forced retirement.Hotel/casino manager John Cusamano schemes to find the money and run away with the love of his life, his boss's wife.Elvis impersonator Hector Deatle and star showgirl Candy Bybee are also hot on the trail of the stolen millions.No one seems to care that the money is rumored to be cursed-everyone who has touched it has died a horrible death. Now cocktail waitress Linda Mayo's nine-year-old daughter-after secretly finding the money-suffers from a terminal, flesh-eating disease.About the Author: Carolyn V. Hamilton is a multi-genre author, free-lance journalist, and workshop leader. Professionally trained as an illustrator and graphic designer, she spent over 3 decades working as a marketing executive and copywriter in the real world of "Mad Men." In 2009 she founded www.adventuress-travel-magazine.com, the digital magazine "for women over 50 doing fun things", focusing on essay stories from women about their personal travel adventures. She is a graduate of Antioch University Seattle and her other adventures have included two years' service as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer and a stint (in her "younger days") as a Playboy Bunny. When she is not traveling, she resides in Cuenca, Ecuador. Visit her writers' website at www.carolynvhamilton.com and sign up for her FREE newsletter, SECRETS OF FICTION WRITING SUCCESS!